My favorite German wooden Christmas ornaments

I wanted to write a more in-depth series about my love for traditional folk art and German Christmas decorations. Today I’m starting with German wooden Christmas ornaments since they are the most affordable and easiest to collect. Nutcrackers, German incense smokers, candle arches, nativity scenes, and German Christmas pyramids are much pricier and also require more storage room.

If you are new to German wooden crafts, the German craftspeople are mostly famous in the Erzgebirge region of Germany and a town called Seiffen. They still work in small workshops and everything is handmade with great attention to detail which is why I love them so much.

My favorite German wooden Christmas ornaments

There is no better time to write about German Christmas tree decorations (called “Baumschmuck”) while being in Germany and if you follow me on Instagram then you know that is where I currently am, visiting my family. Unfortunately, the Christmas markets aren’t open yet and there is not much Christmas magic to photograph this early. I also don’t have enough time to visit my favorite Christmas city Rothenburg ob der Tauber. As I mentioned in my last post their Käthe Wohlfahrt store, Christmas shops and German Christmas museum is like no other. You must visit if you are ever in Germany.

There are hints of Christmas and the upcoming Christmas market (Christkindl Markt) all over already. In front of the Dom in Würzburg you can see the Christmas tree. This picture was taken while having my favorite “Brückenschoppen” which is a small restaurant that sells wine in actual glasses, not plastic cups, to drink on the bridge so you can enjoy the scenery and view of the castle called “Festung”.

And some of the huts for the Christmas market are up already and you can drink Glühwein. Yum!

But now let’s get started with my favorite German wooden Christmas ornaments…

German wooden angel ornaments

Wooden angel ornaments are definitely the most popular ornaments among all German ornaments.

I have a set that is very similar to the white and gold wooden bells and angel set you see pictured below. You can’t go wrong with this color combo and I use them every year on one of my trees. I’m ready to buy a new set because mine are falling apart a bit after owning them for 25 years and heavy use. The kids always loved them so much.

I know you can barely see them on my below tree but in person you can and we love them.

I’d love to pair the above set with the next red, white, blue, and gold wooden angel ornament set which you can find HERE.

The next German wooden angel ornament is a lot more intricate and it shows in the price which is justified. I just love it. (HERE)

I always love the wooden angels on rocking horses.

Or German wooden angels on sleigh ornaments. These are the types of ornaments I used to paint with my mom when I was a kid.

Here are some expensive angels I found in a display case while in Germany.

German wooden star ornaments

The second most common German wooden Christmas ornaments are stars. I guess that’s is the case all around the world for those of us who celebrate Christmas.

The below gold wooden Albin Preißler Christmas star tree ornaments are stunning and different from the usual wooden stars you see.

My favorite type of German wooden Christmas decorations in all categories are all the wood chipped and shaved items and there are German shaved star ornaments like the one below too. Just the thought of how much work goes into carving each point of the star by hand amazes me. (find it HERE)

German shaved wooden ornaments and Christmas tree toppers

My love for the intricacy of the German shaved wooden Christmas items deserves its own category.

The above pictured shaved stars come as tree toppers too. They are all hand-carved by a German artisan.

And speaking of amazing craftsmanship, how about fitting a tiny hand-carved Santa and woodchip tree into a walnut shell? Seriously amazing!

The below wooden shaved pinecone Christmas tree ornament is also impressive. I’d love to have an entire Christmas tree filled with them.

German wooden snowflake ornaments

I used some of these wooden snowflake ornaments in my German style Christmas tree which you can see below. It also has a big German straw star ornaments on the top.

German wooden snowmen ornaments

Wooden German figurine ornaments

Most wooden figurine ornaments are children on ice skates, skis, or sleighs with toys but there are also Santas, miners, or nativity scenes.

I loved these little wooden figurine ornaments so much as a kid and they are especially adorable on a very small-scaled tree, I think.

Wooden German star singer ornaments

I’ve mentioned my love for German star singers in my previous post and there are so many adorable star singer options.

For those of you know don’t know star singers (Sternsinger) or epiphany singers are young people or children walking from house to house with a star on a rod often wearing crowns and dressed in clothes to resemble the three kings or three wise men. They sing and bless the homes by marking the doorframe with the inscription C + M + B which stands for Christus mansionem benedicat, May Christ guard this house.

I’m not religious by any means even though I was raised somewhat Catholic. I’m saying it like that because my dad is Lutheran and my mom was raised catholic and went to school in a nunnery. Neither of my parents were very strict in their religion. I have bad and fond memories of some religious rituals and traditions growing up. The star singers are a fond memory of when they rang our doorbell.

Growing up in Germany I was required to have to pick a religious class which was either Catholic or Lutheran. I hated it. Now the kids have the option to pick an atheist class that actually teaches about all religions and being an atheist. That is definitely what I would have picked and still would.

So picking all these favorites of mine from my childhood align with those bits of good memories and traditions I have and not with faith. I hope you understand.

German wooden cuckoo clock ornaments

Well, what is Germany without Cuckoo Clocks and that’s where my blog name came from! Just look at this adorable little cuckoo clock ornament below. I kind of want to hang it in a doll house all year 😉

Affordable wooden Christmas ornaments inspired by German wooden ornaments

If you are serious about collecting german wooden Christmas ornaments then you should probably invest in authentic handmade ornaments from the ore mountains but if you don’t have the budget for that then you can get the look for less with replicas.

The replicated versions of German ornaments are slightly different but also very pretty. Let me show you some of my favorites. If you have small children then these are definitely a great option in case the kids want to help hang them.

set 1, 2, or 3

How cute is the below wooden Christmas tree by Kurt S. Adler that includes the german wooden Christmas ornaments? And believe it or not, it’s affordable and you can find it HERE.

I saw lots of these types of wooden ornaments and tree sets while I was in Germany in different sizes.

Below is a really tiny one that I thought was very cute.

You can also always check local auctions, Facebook Marketplace, and Etsy for other affordable options.

You might also be interested in my other German decor showcased in a Christmas home tour from a previous year. Or my favorite German Christmas pyramids and how to care for one.

Or check out my favorite Christmas coffee table decor tip and ideas.

And if you prefer to make your own ornaments then check out my gingerbread Christmas ornaments, DIY paper fan ornaments, macrame ornaments, or plastic painted ornaments.

So that’s it for today as far as covering my favorite German Christmas ornaments and I hope you enjoy this little series. I have more to come if you like it.